EXPOSURE: Super Typhoon Haiyan blasts the Philippines

NOAA / Reuters

Super Typhoon Haiyan is seen approaching the Philippines in this Japan Meteorological Agency handout image taken at 0630 GMT (0130 EST) November 7, 2013. Authorities in the Philippines grounded air and sea transport on Thursday and urged fishing boats to return to port as Super Typhoon Haiyan, most powerful storm on earth this year, gathered speed. With center winds of 215 kph (133 mph) and gusts of up to 250 kph, the storm, rated as category five, the most severe, was moving west-northwest at 33 kph in the Pacific Ocean.

Super Typhoon Haiyan is seen approaching the Philippines in this Japan Meteorological Agency handout image taken at 0630 GMT (0130 EST) November 7, 2013. Authorities in the Philippines grounded air and sea transport on Thursday and urged fishing boats to return to port as Super Typhoon Haiyan, most powerful storm on earth this year, gathered speed. With center winds of 215 kph (133 mph) and gusts of up to 250 kph, the storm, rated as category five, the most severe, was moving west-northwest at 33 kph in the Pacific Ocean. (NOAA / Reuters)

Debris fly through the air as strong winds and rain continue to batter buildings after Typhoon Haiyan hit Tacloban city, Leyte province in this still image from video November 8, 2013. Haiyan, potentially the strongest recorded typhoon to make landfall, slammed into the Philippines' central islands on Friday, forcing millions of people to flee to safer ground or take refuge in storm shelters. The category-five super typhoon whipped up giant waves as high as 4-5 metres (12-15 feet) that lashed the islands of Leyte and Samar, and was on track to carve a path through popular holiday destinations.

Debris fly through the air as strong winds and rain continue to batter buildings after Typhoon Haiyan hit Tacloban city, Leyte province in this still image from video November 8, 2013. Haiyan, potentially the strongest recorded typhoon to make landfall, slammed into the Philippines' central islands on Friday, forcing millions of people to flee to safer ground or take refuge in storm shelters. The category-five super typhoon whipped up giant waves as high as 4-5 metres (12-15 feet) that lashed the islands of Leyte and Samar, and was on track to carve a path through popular holiday destinations. (REUTERS TV / Reuters)

Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon in the world this year and possibly the most powerful ever to hit land battered the central Philippines on Friday, forcing millions of people to flee to safer ground, cutting power lines and blowing apart houses. Haiyan, a category-5 super typhoon, bore down on the northern tip of Cebu Province, a popular tourist destination with the country's second-largest city, after lashing the islands of Leyte and Samar with 275 kph (170 mph) wind gusts and 5-6 meter (15-19 ft) waves.